Culpeper's Complete Herbal (Wordsworth Reference) [Paperback]

Nicholas Culpeper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 1998 | ISBN-10: 1853263451 | ISBN-13: 978-1853263453

From Amara Dulcis to Yarrow, All-Heal to Viper's Bugloss, Culpeper's Complete Herbal and English Physician Enlarged offers remedies for all ills known to Seventeenth century society. Together with the alphabetical section on herbs, their provenance and properties, there is The English Physician and Family Dispensary, which provides an astrologo-physical discourse of the human virtues in the body of man. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) studied at Cambridge and became an apothecary, physician and astrologer in London. Whilst only the imprudent would follow his dictates today without question, the Herbal remains a fascinating historical treatise, and stands as a monument to botanical and medical science.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd (November 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853263451
• ISBN-13: 978-1853263453
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #606,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A view on Medieval/Renaissance Herbalism and Medicine, November 20, 2000

By 

Kim Robertson (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Culpeper's Complete Herbal (Wordsworth Reference) (Paperback)

I first heard of this book as being an excellent primary source for herbs and herbalism from the 16/17th Centuries.

It is very comprehensive and aside from a listing of each herb and its properties, it has several sections teaching the fundiments of medicine of the time. It covers:

* how a herb is assigned to a planet
* how a degree of strength is determined and what it means
* what 'humours' it affects and what 'humours' (bodily fluid systems) are
* and much much more.

If you are looking for a source to use for alternate medicine then this is NOT the best starting place. There are better works of a modern nature out there for that. However, as a back-up resource or a way of learning about the time when medicine was still holistic and not too scentific then this is he book for you.

The Wordsworth edition is in paperback and easy on the pocket. This publisher takes certain classic works and keeps them in print in small runs from time to time by demand. This means that although the book may be not immediately available, it will beome available again in the near future.

I hope this helps you.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 17th Century Herbal Remedies, June 25, 2005

By 

Dew - See all my reviews

This review is from: Culpeper's Complete Herbal: Consisting of a Comprehensive Description of Nearly All Herbs with Their Medicinal Properties and Directions from Compounding the Medicines Extracted From Them (Hardcover)

This book played an important and yet controversial role between formal medicine and herbalism.
Nicholas Culpeper(1616-1654) studied medicine at Cambridge, but gave up his studies when his fiancée was killed in a thunderstorm. Culpeper eventually set up his own healing practice near London. He was moved by the suffering of the poor and decided to help the them by selling medicines to them at a very cheap price and encouraged them to use local species.

In the 17th century, the physicians were leaning more toward non-botanical medications such as mercury, arsenic iron and sulfur etc. It is most likely that the physicians of that day resented Culpeper's popularity and considered him a threat, since be made their secrets accessible to the common person--therefore they tried to discredit him.

The people of England due to his genuine concern for them loved Culpeper. The colonist took his herbal to the New World as a medical reference and guide of when to plant and harvest these medical plants.

His mistake was he threatening the near monopoly on medical knowledge that the College of Physicians enjoyed.

This book contains a comprehensive description of nearly all herbs along with descriptions of their medicinal properties and instructions on preparing and using them to treat many different illnesses. It also included precise botanical illustrations. For 300 years this book was the standard for herbal remedies.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Culpeper's Complete Herbal, January 8, 2000

By 

Chris Belgum (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Culpeper's Complete Herbal: Consisting of a Comprehensive Description of Nearly All Herbs with Their Medicinal Properties and Directions from Compounding the Medicines Extracted From Them (Hardcover)

If you have an interest in Herbs and their culinary, mystic and medicinal usages, both modern and historical, then this IS the book for you. It is beautifully illustrated and text is written in both medieval English and modern English.

Each plant (it includes some fruits and trees as well) is pictured and the habitat is described. Along with each description is any affinity to a ruling planet as well.

My only critisism is that it contains a great deal of jargon, you will need to read up on herbalism per se to understand how to make tinctures etc. That said the book is a reference to the plants not the art.

I have had my (well thumbed copy)for over 10 years now and it is a constant companion to my interests in the natural power of the Earth and her fruits.